


A Bird by any Other Name

by Tfortrash



Series: Hand in Unloveable Hand [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Harley Quinn (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Poison Ivy (Comics)
Genre: ? maybe, Alternate Universe, Dick Grayson Has Issues, Dick Grayson is a Talon, Dick Grayson was never adopted, F/F, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Jason Todd was the first Robin, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, i don’t know if i’ll continue this, i have a very rough idea of where I want to go but?? Idk, i live off encouragement, no beta we die like robins, this is set in a Gotham where the villains r a little less evil?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:02:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22905175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tfortrash/pseuds/Tfortrash
Summary: Talon isn’t quite sure what to do with all his newfound freedom, and he certainly isn’t sure what to make of the two women who had decided they need to take care of him.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Harleen Quinzel, Dick Grayson & Harleen Quinzel & Pamela Isley, Dick Grayson & Pamela Isley, Harleen Quinzel/Pamela Isley
Series: Hand in Unloveable Hand [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1782856
Comments: 49
Kudos: 387





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I!!!! Don’t know what this is!!!! I’m very tired sndnsnd  
> Also!!!!! It takes me like. months between updateds bc if I can’t show ppl my half finished projects then What’s The Point n none of my friends like dc :(

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *edited for grammar 12/18/20

The Batman had dismantled The Court. Talon was freed from his cage, and in doing so he had brought upon the downfall of The Court. Talon had been sent after the Batman, but he had failed in his mission. The Bat had followed Talon through the sewers as he retreated without him even noticing, and before Grandmaster even had the time to punish Talon, the Batman and his brood fell on them with righteous fury. Talon had barely made it out as they took down The Court quickly and efficiently, the only reason he had gotten out was because he ran like a coward. 

Talon had been on his own for a few months now, but he still wasn’t used to it. He had been with The Court for as long as he could remember, and it had been… well, he wasn’t entirely sure exactly how much time had passed, but it had been years. While he was with them, they dictated everything he could say and do. When he had trained, when he had gone on missions, how long he was frozen. It was a stark contrast to how he was living now. 

He had been squatting in abandoned buildings to stay out of Gotham’s awful weather. It was nice to have a bed—usually made up of whatever he could find within the buildings, but occasionally he found a mattress—even if he didn’t have to sleep. He could get up whenever he wanted, do whatever he wanted, and most importantly, he could go wherever he wanted. If he wanted to climb the tallest building in Gotham and watch the sunset, he could (it burnt his eyes even with the protective goggles that were built into his mask, one of the lenses slightly shattered, but the view was so worth it). If he wanted to sit on the roof of an apartment building and watch people walk by for hours, he could. It was freedom unlike he could ever remember having.

There were some downsides to being alone out there, though. Talon wasn’t used to not having someone to watch his back. If a squatter entered the abandoned building he was in, there was no one to warn him before he was seen. It was either sheer luck or a serious showing of his stealth abilities that no one had spotted his glowing yellow eyes, or his gray, veiny skin. But the worst part of being alone was the sheer loneliness. Even though he had never been allowed to talk to the other talons, or his trainers, at least they were there. Every moment he could remember, someone was with Talon. The only time he was truly alone was when he was frozen in his coffin.

Recently, Talon was almost caught by two strange, colorful women. He had been wandering around the large warehouse he had recently stationed himself in, trying to ward off boredom until night (because despite the fact he was finally free, he still couldn’t bring himself to go out during the day without the feeling of eyes on him. He was too quick to be seen by a wandering gaze, but he still couldn’t shake the fear), when he heard banging from the door. Spooked, he quickly made his way to the rafters and crouched in the dark, waiting to see if it was a threat.

Just as he reached his hiding spot, the large loading door towards the front of the building was thrown open, and a woman in a clown costume waltzed in. Behind her followed a green woman, covered in leaves. Talon leaned forward, interested. He had seen plenty of people in costumes, from the Owls masks to the bat's suits, but nothing like this. These had bright colors, which made Talon want to come closer. He restrained himself to only watching, as he didn’t know what they would do with him if he was found.

Below him, the clown lady whooped as she threw her comically large mallet in the air to catch, and the sound of her shout reverberated in the large confined space. She turned to her companion, who echoed the others large grin, albeit a much smaller and more reserved version. 

“Ohh Red, we gotsta do that again! Nothin’ gets me goin’ like a good fight!” The woman in pigtails shouted as she mock boxed the air a few times excitedly. A smile threatened to form on Talons face because of her antics, and he fought against it as well as he could, ensuring his face stayed neutral. The woman in green quipped back and forth with her partner a bit, then moved her hands in front of her, angled towards the ground, which caused hundreds of vines to burst through the concrete and made a large tunnel through the earth. The two women left together, and Talon was left behind to wonder what had just happened. 

Something drew him to the clown, even though he wasn’t quite sure why. He was pretty sure he had never seen a clown before. The Owls would certainly never allow something that bright or excitable into their sewers. Making up his mind, Talon carefully dropped to the warehouse floor and made his way to the edge of the hole in the ground before he dropped down into it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favorite type of fanfic is one w/ a bunch of aus cobbled together!! I’ve got a few others in the works rn, and I’m really excited to get them out :D  
> Also, the response on the first chapter was so nice y’all got me crying over here  
> It’s currently 2:30 am, so if you notice any typos they should be fixed in the morning!

Talon wasn’t completely sure what he was doing. He knew damn well this wasn’t a smart move, there were too many unknowns. What were the limits of the green woman’s powers, and did her companion have powers? Where was this tunnel leading, and what would he do if he ran into them before it ended? If they saw him, would they attack? He didn’t have a plan, and most of the time that meant he was as good as dead. Not that death was a huge concern to him.

Eventually, Talon reached the end of the tunnel, and he poked his head out into… a greenhouse? It looked like it had been abandoned for years though, with overgrown exotic plants covering the floor, vines curling up the walls, dirt scattered on the walkways, and leaves poking out of cracks throughout the building, quiet and serene. Moonlight shone through the large windows covering the ceiling, casting the greenery in a blue light. It was unlike anything Talon had ever seen, though that wasn’t saying much, as he couldn’t remember ever leaving Gotham, and he certainly hadn’t been sent anywhere like this on his missions. 

Talon carefully leveraged himself out of the hole, silent and smooth. He crouched on the thick grass, hidden in the shadow of a large tree as he peered around in search of the two women, but also to take a better look at all the greenery. Again, his lips attempted to twitch up into a smile, the second time it had happened since he encountered these two odd people. 

From behind him, Talon heard something that sounded like slithering. He twisted around instantly, knives already sent flying towards the source of the noise. They slammed against vines, pinning them to the roots of the tree he was next to, which made Talon frown. He never missed. At least, he frowned until the vines began moving. He let out a hiss of air as he jumped away from the tendrils, fending them off as he looked for the green woman. 

Talon clenched his teeth under his mask as he dodged under the vines, cutting through as many as he could. He leapt over them as he searched for a way out of the garden, but as he landed the grass under his boots curled around his feet. It didn’t take long for him to tear himself away, but it was enough for the vines to catch up to him and hold him tightly in place, without even enough wiggle room to get the knife hidden in his glove. 

As he squirmed like an eel, trying to escape from the vines constricting grasp, the green woman stepped out from the foliage, with the clown woman close behind her. She stalked forward, growling at Talon as he continued to try to escape. 

“What are you doing here?” She snarled at him. Talon didn’t reply, but he did stop struggling. At this point, he hoped she would kill him and dump his body, so he could regenerate and escape. It was always easier when his assailants didn’t know what he was capable of. It would certainly be inconvenient, but it was better than nothing.

Angered by his lack of response, the woman used a vine to hold his head still, then ripped his mask off his face. Talon kept his expression blank of any emotions. The green woman froze, as rage drained from her face and shifted to confusion. Behind her, her colorful companion gasped and lowered her mallet.

“Red, he’s basically a baby!” That… gave Talon pause. When someone caught a glance at his face, it was usually the golden eyes, grey skin, and black veins that stuck with them, not his age. Besides, Talon was… twenty, he was pretty sure. Though, his regeneration could have slowed the ageing process. Talon wasn’t sure why it mattered, anyway. He had been much younger when The Court had started his training, and they certainly hadn’t cared. 

‘Red’ turned her attention to the other woman, and in her distraction, the vines loosened enough for Talon to get his hands around a blade. Quick as lightning, he cut himself free, and raced towards the window panes covering the ceiling. As he scaled one of the trees, ‘Red’ used the branches to grab at him, but this time Talon was prepared. He used them as springboards, broke through a window, and slipped off into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rn at the top of Dicks latter of kindness is not being murdered so :/  
> I’m sorry my chapters are so short, my big dumb ADHD brain has decided anything past 1000 words is Too Long  
> If anyone’s has tips for how to improve the story/my writing please!!! Leave them in the comments!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me??? Posting at a time that isn’t 3 am??? Less than a month after I posted last time???? More likely than you might think  
> Also if you’re wondering how my quarantine is going while writing a fic idea down I wrote salad instead of Slade and laugh so hard I almost threw up,,, uh

Talon was agitated, to say the least. After his encounter with the two women, they started popping up seemingly everywhere. Most of the time, it was just the clown woman, but occasionally ’Red’ would come along too. First, they tried to watch him as he watched the sunset, but he heard them approach and quickly made his way back to the attic of an abandoned building he had been staying in. Next, they tried to corner him while he was wandering the rooftops, trying to find a new place to stay. Once, he had ran into them while they fought Batman. He had never hid so quickly in his life.

Talon wasn’t sure if he wanted to ask them why they were following him so intently, or just disappear completely. He was definitely regretting following them down that tunnel, he had known it would be a bad idea, but something in him was so curious. But talons weren’t supposed to be curious. Talons weren’t supposed to be anything but tools, weapons to point at a target, then to be put away till their next use. 

He paced like a caged animal along the rails on top of the Wayne Enterprises building, his favorite place in Gotham, as it was the highest spot in the city. He was sure he could find a taller building somewhere but… he couldn’t leave. Talon didn’t know why. He wanted more than anything to leave this godforsaken city, but every time he approached one of the bridges that led away from it, it felt like something in his head was screeching at him to turn back. 

With a silent huff, Talon crouched down on the railing, curling his arms around his chest in a mockery of a hug. His clawed gloves dug into his ribs as he stared at the skyline of Metropolis, past the body of water separating the two. He bet that city wasn’t the cesspool Gotham was. Or maybe they just bothered to try to hide it. At the very least, he probably wouldn’t be stalked by the two women over there. As he brooded, the sound of quiet boots landed on the rooftop behind him. 

“Sir? Could you step back from the ledge?” Talon froze, before slowly turning around, still balanced atop the railing. Once the person behind him caught a better look at his uniform, he quickly shifted from having his arms up in a placating gesture to a fighting stance. It was one of the bats (Red… something. Not the one with the helmet, though.) 

“What the hell?” Red… Bat (possibly…) breathed. The man moved as if to reach for a comm. and Talon reacted without thinking. He lunged forward, tackling Red Bat. He couldn’t be found by Batman, he couldn’t be frozen again, he would rather die, but he knew Batman wouldn’t give him that mercy. As those thoughts distracted him, Red Bat maneuvered his feet up to Talon's stomach and kicked him hard off of him. Talon rolled to his feet, waiting for Red Bat to make his next move.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Talon stepped back, closer to the railing, before hopping up on top of it once again. Red Bats eyes widened under his mask, as he took a step forward, and reached out a hand as Talon leaned backwards over the roof. He raced to the edge, only to see Talon already on the roof far below Wayne Enterprises. The chase was on.

Talon raced over the rooftops as Red Bat grappled down behind him. Talon leapt to the next roof as bat-shaped projectiles flew after him, a few slicing through his uniform, which was already showing wear and tear from him living in it for the past few months. It wasn’t like he needed to be heavily armored, but it would certainly be helpful in this situation. 

In the space between one rooftop and the next, a bola wrapped around his legs, sending him tumbling in the gravel covering the roof. Red Bat descended on top of him as he tore the bola off, and slammed one of the hard balls into the other man's ribs. Red Bat went down hard next to him, but he used his momentum to roll into a crouch, and pushed back to tackle Talon into the gravel where he had started to get up. 

Swiftly, Talon flipped them so he was kneeling on top of Red Bat. Talon grabbed Red Bats cowl as the man pulled something from his belt and broke it under Talon's nose. Talon slammed Red Bats head into the ground—once—twice— and he was out. Talon stumbled back, rubbing at his nose as he realized what had happened. The bat had given him some sort of knockout gas, and Talon didn’t have long before he would be down for the count.

Talon made his way across the roofs as best as he could, but eventually his legs began to wobble and refuse to work, and he tumbled down into an alleyway as he attempted to jump across the gap. He did his best to pull himself up and drag himself behind a dumpster, but his arms gave out halfway through.

Stay awake, he needed to stay awake.

Stay awake… 

Stay…

He heard a gasp, and a strangely familiar feminine voice calling for someone called Ivy, and then he knew nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DONT KNOW HOW TO WRITE FIGHT SCENES,,,  
> Red Bat is Tim, btw! I hope I made that clear enough :,0  
> Leaving things on a cliff hanger is fun ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So,, I haven’t updated in a hot minute,, oops  
> I totally fell off the wagon the pas few weeks and I’m rly angry at myself tbh  
> So far this year I had all As and Bs in school, and the least amount of missing work I think I’ve ever had, and I don’t even have the excuse of having to switch to online school bc I was already doing online school!! AHH!!  
> Anyway, y’all don’t wanna hear me rant :,) I actually went past 1k words for once yaay

Talon woke slowly, with the taste of cotton in his mouth, and a pounding in his skull. He knew the headache would go away soon enough, but he needed water to fix his dry mouth. Those were what Talon focused on, until he remembered what had occurred the last time he was awake. He tensed up, before relaxing his body and listening for anyone else in the room. Once he confirmed the fact that no one was watching over him, he slowly opened his eyes.

The room he was in looked like a mix between a laboratory and a greenhouse, with plants wrapping around tables and chairs, alongside dirt and cracks scattering the floor. Vines were wrapped over his chest and legs, keeping them trapped tight to his body, where he was laying on a metal table. Doing his best to not freak out (this wasn’t the court, they would never let their laboratories get this dirty, this wasn’t them it wasn’t it wasn’t), he began trying to wriggle his way out of his bonds. It only made them tighten around him, He assumed the green woman and the clown had found him, unless there was some other person in Gotham who could control plants. So he gritted his teeth and did his best to sit still and wait to see what they wanted from him.

Apparently, the vines had alerted Red to the fact he was awake, because soon after he awoke, she walked in the door, along with the clown. They both made their way over to him. The way they loomed over him reminded him of waking up with The Court for the first time he could remember, and being told he belonged to them. He tried not to tense, but without his mask, he was sure his face twitched at least a bit. 

The green woman continued to stand over him, while the clown sat across the room at one of the plant covered tables, setting a bag on her lap. Talon did his best not to glare at the green woman, as he didn’t want to anger her. Torture was easier without any personal vendettas.

They stared at each other for a minute, until Red realized Talon wouldn’t be starting the conversation. She leaned forward and crossed her arms over her chest. “So, kid. Are you hungry?” 

Talon blinked. Was he… hungry. His captor was asking him if he was hungry. If this was an interrogation tactic, it wasn’t one he had been trained for.

Apparently, his confusion showed on his face, because she frowned and gestured for the clown to bring her the bag. Again, Talon tensed up, only for Red to pull two brightly colored packages from the paper sack. She waved her empty hand at the vines, and they receded from his arms and torso, and Talon slowly sat up. 

Red placed the two packages in Talons lap, and he stared at them for a moment, before looking back up at her. She continued to look at him, so he picked up one of them, and slowly peeled off the paper. It was… a sandwich. He blankly gazed at it, until Red apparently got impatient.

“It’s not poisoned.” She murmured softly, though her voice still seemed loud in the echoey laboratory. That hadn’t been Talon's concern. He was immune to most poisons, and the stronger ones at most gave him a stomach ache. Talon was more stuck on the fact this woman, who had nothing to gain from feeding him, was doing it. What would she ask for in return? Talon refused to be indebted to her. Food could help him regenerate, and whatever had knocked him out was making him lethargic, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. 

He placed the food next to him on the table and waited for the repercussions of refusing an order. 

Red stared at him a minute longer, then sighed heavily and rubbed at her eyes. “Kid,” She sounded tired. “You’re going to have to eat eventually. Might as well get it over with.” 

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He really didn’t have to eat. He had a few options here. It was obvious neither of the women knew of his abilities—though if they were going to start torturing him for information, they would likely find out about his healing soon—and he could either keep as many in the dark as possible, or he could lay it all out and hope it scared them off.

Talons were known for the dark. He lifted the sandwich and bit into it, and was unable to hide his surprise. This was… good. This was really good. It was nothing like what The Court would occasionally give him when he was healing too slow for their tastes. It was greasy and savory, and Talon was barely aware of how he shoveled it down his throat. 

Once he came back to his senses, he glanced between the two women, claws clenched tightly around the second packaged sandwich. He didn’t care if they would be angry, they weren’t taking it from him. But, surprisingly, neither of them looked like he had disrespected them by eating like an animal. 

Talon slowly peeled open his second sandwich, and ate it much slower than before. He couldn’t stop a small, pleased smile from forming on his face, though it quickly vanished when the clown stood, and made her way over to them. Talon tensed, but all she did was place a glass of water on the table next to him. She then nodded towards Red, and they made their way out of the room.

Talon could hear them speaking, but he couldn’t make out the words through the door. Talon began inspecting the vines around his legs. They weren’t tight enough to cut off circulation, but it was enough that he would have to break a few bones to get out of it. Normally, he would do it, but even with the extra fuel in him, he doubted he would heal before his captors came back. Talon supposed he could also cut through the vines, but as he had seen earlier, the green woman was connected to them in a way that told her when something was happening to them.

Talon glared at the vines and huffed, before picking up the glass of water. Like food, he didn’t really need it, but it was… nice. 

Unfortunately, he had only just lifted it to his lips when he heard a crash outside the room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okaay I’ve changed a few things!! I got rid of the chapter titles (I spend an embarrassing amount of time finding good lyrics :,0), i went back and edited some stuff (nothing story changing), and I made this a part of a series! It’s now a series bc I have a good ending for the current fic, but I’ve got a lot more I want to write in this universe!  
> This was supposed to be the last chapter, but it was 1,500 and counting so I split it, haha  
> The next chapter should be the last one, and it’s already half written so it should come out sooner!

Talon dropped the glass and whipped around towards the door. Another loud crash echoed into the room, and Talon began struggling. He grabbed one of the shards of glass and slammed it into the vines wrapped around his leg. He used it as a saw, and slowly tore through the vines wrapped around his legs. The sound of fighting continued outside the door as Talon inspected the room for an exit.

There were a few small windows on the high ceiling, but they were too tiny for him to ever be able to fit through. Talon snarled in frustration, and slowly crept towards the door. The glass on it was frosted, so he couldn’t see more than shadows darting around past it. He hated going into things blind. 

Talon gingerly eased the door open to ensure it wouldn’t creak (he doubted the people fighting would notice, but staying silent had been beaten into him enough times for it to just be muscle memory), and peeked his head around the corner. Outside the room was the same greenhouse he had first met the two women. Said women were currently fighting Batman and his flock. Fuck.

Talon closed the door as quickly as he could without noise, and leaned against it, breathing heavily. He couldn’t be captured by Batman. The Bat would freeze him, he knew it was what Batman had done to the other talons. Talon would rather die, actually die, permanently this time, than be frozen again. But he couldn’t stay here, he had no idea what the two women would do to him either. He had no choice but to go into the greenhouse, and hope he won’t be spotted by either group. 

Talon steeled his nerves, and once again pulled the door slightly open. Across the room, Batman and Batboy were battling Red and the clown, darting between the greenery that was grabbing at them. He slid out from behind the door, and snuck closer to the doors, keeping one eye on the four of them at all times. 

Talon slid over the large roots that had climbed their way up the walls, only moving when he was sure he was out of sight. He was so close to the door when he heard a smack and a yell. Talon whipped his head around, only to see Batboy flying towards him, from where he had been thrown by one of Reds vines. Talon only gave himself a second to think. Either he gets away safely, or he lets the child slam into the wall, and possibly get hurt.

He really didn’t need to think about it.

Talon leapt forward and slammed into Batboy midair, ducking and rolling as they landed. Talon quickly let go of Batboy, backing away as the child got his bearings. Batboy looked up with a snarl on his face, and yelled, “Father! They have a pet talon working for them!” as he drew the katana that was strapped to his back.

Batman turned towards them, already tossing two batarangs at him. Talon dodged one, but the other lodged itself into the meat of his shoulder. Talon was cornered. On one side, Batboy was approaching with his katana held high, ready to strike, and on the other was Batman. Talon backed up as far as he could, until he bumped into the wall. He considered climbing a tree, but he doubted Red would let that happen a second time. He was trapped. 

As Talons thoughts darted from failed escape route to failed escape route, Batman stumbled and slammed into the ground. On his back was the clown, with her arms wrapped around his neck in a chokehold. He rolled over on top of her, but Red was quick to pull him off of her using her vines. 

Talon turned to face Batboy, who had been momentarily distracted by Batman going down, but he didn’t stay distracted for long. He swiftly turned back to Talon and charged him. Talon swung a knife up to deflect the boy's blade and twisted away from him. Batboy moved to slam his elbow into Talons ribs, but Talon kicked him in the side before he could, knocking him to the ground.

While Batboy was down, Talon took the chance to look back at Batman. The two women were fighting him together, having one distract him while the other got a hit in. 

Batboy got back up and charged Talon, a snarl of rage on his face. He tackled Talon to the ground, but Talon kicked him in the stomach, which sent him flying over Talons head, landing with an “oof”. Talon jumped on top of him, holding him down with one hand. 

Talon ripped the batarang out of his shoulder and lifted it high above Batboy. The child scrunched his eyes closed as Talon brought it down on Batboy, then climbed off of him. Batboy opened his eyes and glanced to the side, confused. The batarang was embedded in his hood, pinning him to the concrete walkway.

Talon made his way over to where the other three had been fighting as Batboy attempted to rip his hood off. Their fight had gone eerily silent. Talon peaked out from behind a tree, to where Batman was finishing tying up the clown. Red was unconscious, lying on her side. The clown woman thrashed around on the dirt as Batman rose and turned towards the place Talon and Robin had been fighting.

Talon gazed towards the door, then back at the two women. The clown was scooching towards Red as best as she could, mumbling under her breath angrily. Talon didn’t know what Batman would do with them. Would he still freeze them? Regular humans couldn’t survive something like that. Or would he do something worse, torture them, turn them into more little sidekicks. Talon didn’t have much time to decide, Batman would come back when he realized Talon was gone. 

Slowly, Talon made his way out from behind the tree. As the clown spotted him, she froze, tensing up as he inched closer. He crouched down beside her, and reached out a clawed hand to grab the cuffs around her ankles, and quickly picked them using his claws. 

She gave him a confused look, but stood without attacking him. Talon unlocked red, hoisted her unconscious body over one shoulder, and nodded towards the door. 

They made it through the building's thick foliage without interruption from either bat, though Talon stayed on high alert even as they made their way out of the greenhouse. The doors led out to more trees. Talon assumed it was one of Gotham’s parks, but without seeing the buildings, he couldn’t be sure which one.

The clown woman pointed in a direction, and Talon followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please consider donating to bail funds/signing petitions!! Stay safe y’all!
> 
> Btw, my dc tumblr is tfortrash-dc Please send me an ask abt what you’d like to see in this series!! I reblog stuff and post my art abt once every blue moon :,)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DONT LIKE THIS AND I DONT KNOW IF ITS BECAUSE ITS BAD OR BECAUSE ITS THE LAST CHAPTER AHHHH
> 
> Ahem,, anyway, sorry for the wait!! The past few months have been,, insane

The clown had brought him to a small abandoned apartment building in the middle of Crime Alley and led him up to one of the second-floor rooms. The door was hanging off its hinges, and what he could see if the cramped room inside was covered with dirt.

“Sorry it’s a bit of a dump, but Batsie doesn’t know about it, so that’s good enough, eh?” She grinned as she flopped down on the moth-eaten sofa, and sent plumes of dust into the air. Talon shivered at the mention of Batman.

“So… the names Harley. Sleeping beauty on your shoulder is Ivy, you can put her down wherever. What’s your name kid?” She—Harley—sat up and dropped her feet on the table, so Talon carefully maneuvered Ivy off his shoulder and onto the couch. Her head leaned over sideways awkwardly, and Talon carefully righted it, though he kept his claws tucked into his palm to keep from accidentally cutting her. Harley watched him closely as he did so.

Talon wasn’t supposed to speak. He glanced around for something to write on, eventually spotting a scrap of paper on the ground and a pen on the kitchen counter. He brought it over to the coffee table and wrote ‘Talon‘ with the perfect handwriting his Masters had taught him. Harley leaned over and snatched the paper as soon as he placed it in front of her.

“Huh. Talon. Edgy. Did’ja pick that out yourself?”

Talon frowned down at his gloved hands and shook his head. Technically, Talon wasn’t a name. It was a descriptor. A title. He was his Owls talon, their weapon, their protection. He had a number which he answered to when he was needed, and that was that. But Talon liked having a name, and it wasn’t like his masters would know when they called him Talon, he was thinking of it as a name, rather than a title.

Harley leaned over Ivy and poked her in the forehead a few times, before strolling into the kitchen. She grabbed a dusty glass from a cupboard and began filling it up in the sink. Quite frankly, Talon was surprised the plumbing worked at all, but the water came out brown and disgusting, so he supposed it wouldn’t really work for much.

“So, you’re not much of a talker, hm?” Harley made her way back to where Ivy was passed out on the couch, once again leaning over her, though this time Harley was behind her. She held the glass above Ivy's head and tilted it over onto her face. 

Ivy leapt up with a shout, blinking water out of her eyes as she slid into a fighting stance. She blinked rapidly to clear her eyes, and when she was able to see again, she realized she was in a safehouse, though she didn’t lower her fists as she faced Talon. Harley hopped over the back of the couch and threw her arm over Ivy’s shoulder.

“Ives, this is Talon, he’s… well, he hasn’t tried to kill either of us, so there’s that.” Harley shrugged at her.

Ivy gave her a look, but she stood down, though she stayed ready to move quickly and kept her eyes locked on him. Talon put his hands up in front of himself in surrender, though he realized belatedly the claws on his gloves didn’t give off the most calming air. It seemed to be enough for Ivy though, as she allowed herself to look over to Harley. 

Harley edged around the dusty coffee table to flop down on the couch once again, patting the cushions on either side of her in a bid to get the other two to sit. Ivy sat right next to Harley, though she perched on the edge, still watching Talon. 

While they watched, Talon had a mini-crisis, but did his best to keep his face neutral. The Owls didn’t allow him to sit in their presence, he was to kneel or stand, but he also was not allowed to kneel in front of targets, as he represented the Court. But… these two women weren’t Owls or targets. 

Maybe Talon let his indecision show on his face, or perhaps he just stood staring at Harley for too long, because she slowly reached out an arm to Talon, telegraphing every movement as much as she could, and slowly guiding him down to the couch.

Talon curled up in the corner, belatedly worrying if he would be punished for having his boots on the furniture. He wasn’t taking them off, he wouldn’t be able to escape as well without them. It seemed, though, that neither woman had any problem with it.

“Alright, kid. Who are you, where are you from, why do you have so many knives, are you running from someone, and are you going to try to kill us?” 

Talon blinked at Harley, before once again leaning over his piece of paper. Next to ‘Talon’, he wrote: ‘don’t know’, ’don’t know’, ’I need them’, ’yes’, and’ I don’t want to’, then passed the paper back to Harley.

She took it and held it between her and Ivy. Allowing them both to read it. They whispered to each other for a few moments before turning back to Talon in unison.

“One more thing, kid.” Harley leaned forward, her hands on her knees, the most serious Talon had seen her yet. “Who are you running from?” 

Talon froze. If he told them, would they make him leave? Would they turn him in? He didn’t exactly have a choice.

Talon heaved a silent sigh before looking back up at the two. “Batman,” He whispered, his voice croaking from years of disuse.

The two women once again glanced at each other, seeming to communicate without even speaking.

“Alright then, here’s the deal, Talon,” Ivy said, “we’ll help you hide from Batman, if you help us out with a few jobs. We’ve seen you fight, we could use your help with a few things. We won’t willingly put you in the way of Batman, and if he or any of his bat-lings do run into you, we’ll keep you safe. How’s that sound?” She held out a green hand, her equally green eyes locked on Talons bright yellow ones.

Talon put his own hand in hers after only a second of hesitation, clasping her wrist in a catcher's grip. It seemed, for better or worse, he had a truce with these two strange women. However it went, Talon was sure it would be better than being alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t believe I’m done with this :(((( I rly want to play around in this universe again n I’ve got some stuff planned! It might take a while tho lol
> 
> Also I can’t wait to reread this tomorrow n realize I made a million typos 
> 
> Btw, my dc tumblr is tfortrash-dc Please send me an ask abt what you’d like to see in this series!! I reblog stuff and post my art abt once every blue moon :,)

**Author's Note:**

> I’m really sorry I haven’t been replying to comments!!! I got,, kinda overwhelmed at the response to this fic, n when I went to respond to them a couple days ago my dumbass went “NO!! It would be WEIRD if u respond now!!!” But just kno I would die for anyone who comments on this and I hope you’re all staying safe!!


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